The first-year tournament based in Carrabelle draws 34 boats and sets the stage for years to come; Ron Hays’ Reel Southern’s 27.2-pound kingfish takes top prize

By Mike Readling
Associate Editor Florida Fishing Weekly

By the time the flare went up early Saturday morning and 34 boats ripped out of the Carrabelle River, split Dog Island and St. George Island and headed for a wide open Gulf of Mexico, most of Brian Hurley’s job was done.

Hurley, the tournament director for the first-year Reelpro Big 4 Offshore tournament out of Carrabelle, still had a little work to do but that fact that 34 boats were heading out of East Pass signaled the culmination of four months of hard work.

Now it was just a matter of getting them back in safely, weighed in correctly, fed well and ready to do it all again Sunday morning. Not an issue for the laid back Hurley, who wisely enlisted the help of longtime Carrabelle captain and tournament director Millard Collins at C-Quarters Marina.

Despite a drenching rainstorm Friday and choppy, windy conditions in the northern Gulf on Saturday, Hurley was satisfied with the 15-pound kingfish that led the kingfish, grouper, Spanish mackerel and cobia tournament. Though, in all honesty, he was hoping for a bigger weight on a much calmer final day.

Enter Ron Hays, captain of the Reel Southern, a 33-foot Pro-Line he moves between Carrabelle and Mexico Beach, depending on the season.

Hays and his crew managed an 11.5-pound king on the first day, just small enough to miss getting on the board. On Day Two, they were convinced they knew the spot, it was just a matter of getting the fish to bite.

“We started out and picked up two right off the bat in the 18- to 20-pound range, so we knew there were some big ones around,” Hays said. “Not long after that, a 27-pounder grabbed on.”

That 27.2-pounder was caught by Jamie Lawrence and proved to be the difference, beating runner-up Team Seatrout, which boated a 22.4- pounder. With the win, Hays and his crew which consisted of Lawrence, his father James Lawrence, Chip Smithwick, Robert Cochran and Phillip Cochran, toted home a check worth $7,000.

Team Seatrout earned $2,500, followed by Branch Office with $1,000 and Team Carrabelle RV Beach Resort, which earned $500 with an 18.8-pound king.

Rezoned won the grouper division and $2,500 with a 16.1-pound grouper and weighed in the only cobia (20.5 pounds) while Branch Office took home the prize for top Spanish mackerel (5.1 pounds)

“We felt pretty good about the 27-pounder, but there are a lot of big kingsfish around there. You never can tell about Carrabelle,” Hays said. “I knew we could probably get on board with it. In a lot of these tournaments, 30- and 35-pounders are not uncommon but we felt like the bite might have been over for that day.”

Team Reel Southern seemed to take a different tact than many other boats in the field as they fished 10 to 12 miles out of East Pass. A lot of other teams made the 72-mile trip to the Middlegrounds in search of big grouper, but were shut out.

Hays, who lives in Camilla, Georgia, about 50 miles north of Tallahassee, said he fishes a lot of tournaments in the Carrabelle and Mexico Beach area. He said the Reelpro Big 4
Offshore tournament, which was presented by Casa Vieja Lodge and Sportsman’s Addiction and put together by Hurley in only four months despite a bevy of family health issues, is one that could stick around for a long time.

“I thought Brian and Millard did a great job,” Hays said. “I’ve fished a lot of tournaments out of C-Quarters and I think this one went very well. I think the tournament has a lot of potential. I’m excited about it.”

Hurley is another person who is excited by the potential of the tournament’s growth.

He incorporated Panhandle favorites like a low country boil during the captain’s meeting and a large fish fry at Pirate’s Landing, across the river from C-Quarters, after the first day of fishing into the tournament structure to give it more of a local feel.

“I thought it went very, very smoothly,” Hurley said. “We had a good turnout even though I think weather played a little bit of a factor. Overall, the foundation has been laid for bigger and better events to come. It was a fun, fun time.”